In today’s world, everything is connected. Most people don’t go anywhere without their phone, and the newest gadgets are created with an emphasis on connectivity.
Fitness trackers are great examples of wearable technology, and they let you stay connected while you work out. The only problem is that there are hundreds of different options to choose from. In the past, these devices were known for only a few different features.
You could track your sleep and steps, but if you wanted to track your heart rate, you were out of luck. Many of the latest fitness trackers have a wide range of sensors, and they allow you to track a variety of different metrics.
What Features To Look For
When shopping for a new fitness tracker, there are several features to consider. For many consumers, style is very important. Since you’re planning to wear the product, it should look good on you. A number of fitness trackers are designed to be worn on your wrist, but others can be clipped onto your clothing.
Manufacturers used to focus only on functionality, but now, they create wearable products that look good and offer great functionality. You should choose a style that you’re comfortable wearing because you’ll perform at your best when you feel confident. The next feature to consider is the display.
Many of the best fitness trackers deliver data with symbols, numbers and words. They use a display to show you important data. Some products use a very basic display, which looks similar to a standard watch. Many advanced fitness trackers use an LED display or let you display useful data through a connection with your smartphone.
If you want a product that uses a smartphone app, try to test drive the app before you make a purchase. Compatibility is another feature to consider. The best fitness trackers will sync with your computer and smartphone, and you can also choose products that are designed to sync with Android and Apple’s iOS.
Before you decide on a specific product, consider the accuracy. Fitness trackers aren’t perfect, but you should look for a product that is regarded as being very accurate.
They use several algorithms and sensors to produce data, so the information isn’t always 100 percent correct. Battery life is another important feature. There is no point in owning a fitness tracker if the battery doesn’t last long enough to finish a good workout.
Some trackers have a battery life that can last one day, and other products can last an entire month on a single battery charge. You have to consider your personal lifestyle and choose the product that fits best with it. Fitness trackers that have a bright LED screen will need to be charger far more often than trackers that have no screen.
You should also consider whether the device is waterproof or not. If your workouts take you places where there is a lot of moisture, then a waterproof product might be best.
Common Misconceptions
There are several misconceptions surrounding fitness trackers, and many of the myths are spawned by the companies that make the products. In most cases, the myths aren’t created intentionally, but they can make it much more difficult to find a great product.
A number of different fitness trackers can record bursts of activity, but they’re not very good at tracking data for certain sports. For example, you won’t find a fitness tracker that displays how many arm strokes you’ve made.
You’ll be able to track your heart rate and how many calories you’ve burned, but the tracker won’t be able to break down your entire performance. Another misconception that gives people problems is based around cycling and running.
If the product doesn’t have a GPS unit, it can’t report your distance or pace, and it’s nowhere near as useful as a running watch. Most fitness trackers serve as basic guides for your workouts.
The Perfect Style
You’ll find that most fitness trackers wrap around your wrist. However, you can choose from a variety of trackers that connect to your clothing using a dongle.
Depending on the type of activities you’re involved with, a tracker with a dongle might be the better option. Several budget options can be clipped onto your pockets.
A minimalistic tracker won’t have a screen, and it could be a better option for intense activities. If you want your fitness data displayed in a way that makes it much easier to interpret, consider getting a product that has an LED display.
Data Options
The main reason to get a fitness tracker is for the data. You can interpret and use the data for a variety of purposes, and before you make a purchase, you need to decide how much data you need.
Most trackers will give you data on steps taken and sleep. Some of the newest products can track your heart rate and share it on social media. Many consumers think they need a lot of data, but once they purchase a fitness tracker, they realize that they only use one or two data points.
It might be a good idea to start with something simple, and if you find that you need more data points, you can purchase a tracker that offers more data points.
Charging Speed
You won’t find too many people talking about charging speed, but it’s a very important feature to consider. If you’re like most people, you have a busy life and forget things. Maybe you have a workout tomorrow morning and forget to charge your fitness tracker the night before.
In this situation, your only option is to wait for the device to charge or go without it. Charging speed is important because it can protect you from these unfortunate situations.
Some fitness trackers charge much faster than others, so if you forget to charge it the night before, it won’t take several hours to charge enough for a quick workout.
Some of the best fitness trackers use advanced charging technology, and they only take a few minutes to absorb enough battery life for a quick workout. Below, you’ll find 10 reviews of some of the top fitness trackers on the market. We’ve hand-picked these products and eliminated the guesswork.
Great Fitness Trackers for Beginners
Fitbit Alta Fitness Tracker Silver Black Small
This fitness tracker is designed for simplicity, and it can track how many minutes you’ve been active, calories burned, distance and steps. It uses an OLED tap display to show you useful stats, and it even displays the time. The Fitbit Alta can automatically track how well and how long you sleep at night.
If you’re looking for an easy way to get up early in the morning, the Fitbit Alta can wake you up with a vibrating, silent alarm. It can be personalized with interchangeable leather, classic and metal bands, which are sold separately.
This fitness tracker makes it possible to receive calendar notifications, text and call information, but you must keep your phone nearby. The Fitbit Alta is customized to match your personal style. By displaying useful activity data, it can help you stay motivated.
It will show you calories burned, distance traveled and how many minutes you’ve been active. With the SmartTrack feature, the Fitbit Alta lets you get credit for every workout. Since it features a simplistic, powerful design, this fitness tracker could be a great choice for beginners.
Fitbit Charge HR Wireless Activity Wristband Black Large
Here we have another Fitbit tracker, and with a very simple design, it’s great for beginners. This product delivers automatic, continuous heart rate monitoring. It uses simplified heart rate zones and attaches to your wrist.
If you want to track floors climbed, calories burned, distance traveled, heart rate, steps and active minutes, you should consider this product. The Fitbit Charge HR automatically monitors your sleep, and it can use a silent alarm to wake you up. It allows you to see time, daily stats and call notifications.
With an OLED display, this fitness tracker makes it easy to interpret important data. It lets you wirelessly sync stats and send data to your computer. It can connect with 150 different smartphones, and before you purchase, you can check your size with an easy-to-use sizing tool.
This high-performance wristband offers continuous heart rate monitoring and has enough battery life to be used all day. You can use the Fitbit Charge HR to track several types of data, and it even has Caller ID.
LQM I5 Smart Bracelet Bluetooth 4.0 Fitness Tracker
If you’re looking for a very basic tracker, the LQM I5 could be a great choice. Although it has been designed with an emphasis on simplicity, this tracker has several features to offer. With a built-in pedometer, it offers information about how many steps you’ve taken. It will tell you how far you’ve walked and how many calories you’ve burned.
Once the device has been wirelessly synced with your smartphone, it delivers all of the data points through your smartphone. A quick glance at the app will give you plenty of information about your current workout. The LQM I5 has an alarm clock and can tell you who has called you.
It offers support for Android phones and can even tell you when you’ve been sitting too long. When you get new text messages, this fitness tracker will let you know. It’s also capable of delivering information about your sleep.
It will tell you how long you sleep at night and provide detailed information about deep and light sleep cycles. On a full charge, this device will last up to six days, and it only takes 30 minutes to reach a full battery charge.
Fitbit One Wireless Activity Plus Sleep Tracker Burgundy
Many fitness trackers must be worn around your wrist. The Fitbit One is different because it can be attached to your clothing. It allows you to track calories burned, distance traveled, stairs climbed and steps taken. It also has built-in technology to track your sleep.
With a silent alarm, it’s capable of waking you up for an early workout, and it won’t disrupt your partner. This fitness tracker can automatically sync to your computer, tablet or smartphone, and for the best experience, it uses Bluetooth 4.0.
If you want to make fitness more enjoyable, you can use this device to earn badges, view progress and set goals. Your stats can be wirelessly synced to your computer, and the Fitbit One is compatible with 150 top smartphones.
The Fitbit One has a built-in battery, and it must be charged with a USB port. If fitness is important to you, then this fitness tracker could be a great choice. It can provide the data that you need to stay active and motivated.
Jawbone UP2 Lightweight Thin Strap Fitness Tracker
Here we have another fitness tracker that is great for beginners. It features a newer, lightweight design, and it’s available in five different colors. If you’re looking for something discreet, this is one of the best products available.
At a glance, this tracker looks like nothing more than a stylish bracelet, but it’s actually a high-tech tracking device, and it’s capable of sending a wealth of fitness data to your smartphone. This device will track your sleep and activities, and it will even let you get advice from Smart Coach.
With a smart alarm and sleep data, this tracker will wake you up at the perfect point in your sleep cycle. On a full battery charge, it will work for 10 days.
It’s compatible with Android smartphones and can be used with several different types of iPhones. With intelligent algorithms, this fitness tracker is able to track your idle time, active time, calories burned and distance. It even lets you log different types of workouts.
This device automatically tracks you when you’re moving or idle. The Jawbone UP2 uses advanced hardware and sophisticated algorithms to deliver detailed data about your workout.
Garmin Vívofit Fitness Band Black
With such a simplistic design, the Garmin Vívofit is ideal for beginners. It offers several features that you might not get from other trackers. One of its best features is called the Move Bar, and it motivates you to stay active throughout the day.
When it finds that you’ve been idle for at least one hour, it will display the red Move Bar, which helps you to get moving. To reset the Move Bar, you must get up and walk for a few minutes. This fitness tracker is designed to be comfortable, stylish and wearable.
It’s a water-resistant product, so you don’t have to worry about a little bit of moisture ruining your workout. When compared to many other products, the Garmin Vívofit offers better battery life.
The display is easy to read and lets you know the time. Like most other products in this category, this fitness tracker is designed to help you achieve your goals. However, it’s unique because it’s able to learn your personal activity level and assign a personalized goal.
It allows you to count calories burned and uses sophisticated technology to monitor your sleep. The Garmin Vívofit can also give you data about your distance traveled, steps taken and heart rate.
Garmin Vívosmart HR Activity Tracker Regular Fit
This product is similar to the product mentioned above, but it costs more money and offers several additional features. The Garmin Vívosmart HR should be worn on your wrist and can deliver a wrist-based heart rate. It features a sleek design and can be worn all day.
It can display a variety of statistics, and you shouldn’t have any trouble seeing the display while running in bright sunlight. The Garmin Vívosmart HR will give you information about floors climbed, heart rate, calories, distance, activity intensity and steps.
By sending you an alert, it lets you know when you get an email, call or text. To keep you active, it uses the Move Bar feature, which activates when you’ve been idle for an hour.
This fitness tracker will automatically sync with your smartphone, so you can get important stats about your fitness activity. You can use your smartphone and share your statistics with an online community, but you’ll need to download the Garmin Connect app.
The Garmin Vívosmart HR will last for five days on a full battery charge, and with a stylish, minimalistic design, it’s a great choice for beginners.
Best Advanced Fitness Trackers
Fitbit Blaze Smart Fitness Watch
The Fitbit Blaze Smart is an advanced fitness tracker, and it has several different features to offer. If you want to map routes and get detailed activity data, you can connect this device to your smartphone GPS. Once it has been connected, the Fitbit Blaze will show you information about run duration and pace.
It’s capable of on-screen workouts with FitStar, which delivers valuable coaching information. Another available feature is the PurePulse heart rate. This feature continuously monitors your heart rate and doesn’t require an irritating chest strap.
Since it monitors your heart rate, it will help you to get the most out of every workout. The Fitbit Blaze lets you select a specific type of workout, and some of the available workout options are cardio, biking and running. Once you’ve selected a specific type of activity, you’ll receive accurate data from the fitness tracker.
It uses a stylish display to give you real-time data about your workout. You can even use the Fitbit Blaze to set specific workout goals and view summaries. On a full charge, this device will last up to five days, and it’s compatible with a variety of different frames and accessory bands.
To keep you updated, it delivers text, call and calendar alerts. There is even a silent alarm, which makes it easier to get up in the morning.
Garmin Vívoactive Black
Advanced fitness trackers can make your workouts fun and enjoyable. When you have more data to play with, you can make sure that every workout is better than the last.
The Garmin Vívoactive Black is an ultra-thin smart watch, and it features a high-resolution, bright touchscreen, which can be read in direct sunlight. This watch is designed with built-in sports apps and provides access to GPS-enabled golfing, biking and running.
It tracks your activity and makes it easy to view your stats. Once it has been paired with a smartphone, it will let you know about calendar items, emails, texts and calls. The Garmin Vívoactive Black even gives you social media notifications, and the battery can last up to three weeks.
This advanced fitness tracker is designed to help you hit the ground running, and it’s made by a company that has been making these types of products for many years.
The Garmin Vívoactive Black lets you live better, work smarter and play harder, and you can use it anywhere. With great moisture resistance, it can stand up to rain, and it has the potential to make your workouts fun and enjoyable.
Fitbit Surge Fitness Superwatch
The Fitbit Surge is like the superhero version of modern fitness trackers. Since it uses GPS tracking, you get access to statistics that you can’t get from many other fitness trackers. It can track your elevation, pace and distance. The GPS feature is also great for tracking split times and lets you easily review routes.
This device offers automatic, continuous heart rate monitoring and lets you track and view workout summaries. Despite its sophistication, the Fitbit Surge still tracks all of the basic statistics, which includes calories, distance, steps, active minutes and floors.
With a full charge, this device can be used for seven days, and it charges very quickly. It has built-in technology for monitoring your sleep and can wake you up with a silent alarm.
It even has wireless syncing, which is great for sharing workout information across your smartphone and computer. If you’re looking for one of the best fitness trackers that money can buy, the Fitbit Surge Fitness Superwatch is worth considering.
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